outgrow

[out-groh]

verb (used with object)

outgrew, outgrown, outgrowing. 

1. to grow too large for.

   to outgrow one's clothes.

2. to leave behind or lose in the changes incident to development or the passage of time.

   She outgrew her fear of the dark.

3. to surpass in growing.

   watching one child outgrow another.

verb (used without object)

outgrew, outgrown, outgrowing. 

1. Archaic.,  to grow out; burst forth; protrude.

outgrow

/ ˌaʊtˈɡrəʊ /

verb

1. to grow too large for (clothes, shoes, etc)

2. to lose (a habit, idea, reputation, etc) in the course of development or time

3. to grow larger or faster than

Word History and Origins

Origin of outgrow¹

First recorded in 1585–95; out- + grow

Example Sentences

Last year, Reuters reported the banking firm was weighing options in London after outgrowing its existing 33-storey tower in Canary Wharf.

Read more on BBC

The childhood lisp I thought I’d outgrown came roaring back like it had been waiting in the wings.

Read more on Salon

Their anxiety has outgrown politics and become a way of being.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“They are the acts of institutions that have realized that the system that they’ve designed has outgrown their control.”

Read more on MarketWatch

“I feel like my body just kind of outgrew me,” he said, “and I was having a hard time keeping up.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal